Lucky Jersey
by Fishy314
Summary: When Ben threw his jersey to Mal at last year's tourney game, he didn't think she would actually keep and want it. That belief is about to change when he catches Mal wearing it.


There was a buzz of excitement around Auradon Prep. As the winter season was winding down to an end and the days were becoming longer and warmer as spring finally began to emerge, tourney season was beginning once again. Tryouts had been held and the team chosen. Students were purchasing Auradon Prep clothing to cheer on their school and friends. All that was left to begin the season was the opening game being held at Auradon Prep that weekend.

And the captain of said team needed to find his jersey. Ben had been looking for nearly half an hour with no luck, searching through his closet, drawers, backpacks, and any other place he could think of. He'd called his mom to search his room at the palace, and she'd come up with nothing too. He could have sworn he'd seen it at school this year though.

Ben sat on his bed, deep in thought, trying to retrace his steps from where he would have put the jersey last year. Normally he was a very organized person, never losing something like this that was important to him. He supposed he could always wear the new jersey he'd gotten this year, but since the design hasn't changed he really wanted to wear the one from last year: the jersey his team had won the finals last year with. To him, it was his lucky charm.

And suddenly, it hit him. After the Knights had won, Ben had sung to Mal, throwing his shirt to her during his big number. He must have seen it in her room one of the many times he was over. She probably brought it back with her this year to return to him, most likely forgetting to last year with all the chaos going on. It seemed like the only logical reasoning, right?

So, Ben walked down to his girlfriend's dorm room and knocked on the door. After a few seconds, Evie opened it.

"Hey Ben," she greeted with her signature dazzling smile.

"Hey Evie. Is Mal here?"

"She's actually in the shower. You do realize what time it is, right?"

A quick glance at his watch told him he had an hour until curfew. When did it get so late?

"I'm so sorry, Evie. I didn't realize at all."

She laughed. "It's fine Ben, really. Do you need something?"

"I just needed to talk to Mal, but it can wait. Goodni-"

"Nonsense," Evie interrupted. "I heard the water turn off a few minutes ago, so she'll be out soon anyway. I'll let her know you're here." She turned back into the room, motioning him to come in.

"Evie, you don't have to do that. Seriously, it can wait."

"Nope. There's still plenty of time until curfew, and obviously you need something. Plus," She put her hand up like she was whispering a secret. "I think Mal misses you lately, since you've been so busy with tourney stuff when you aren't being king. This will be good for her. She will love to see you."

"Fine." Ben sighed. "I'll stay and talk to my girlfriend," he said with a smile.

Evie laughed and began to walk over to the bathroom door when it suddenly opened. "Evie, who are you talking to? Are the boys here?"

Mal looked up from towel drying her hair to freeze and gape at Ben, who was smiling much too happily at her. That smile was infuriating her. "What are you doing here?" she gritted out, arms crossed, glaring up at him.

That only seemed to make him smile wider. "I actually came to collect this," he said, tugging a little on his jersey lying loosely on her frame, dangling so long that her shorts barely showed beneath it.

Her scowl faltered for a second before quickly reappearing. "Fine. I'll go change and you can have it back." She went to whip away from him, but Ben caught her arm before she could. She glared at him even more, and Ben wondered if it was terrible of him to think she was even cuter when she was acting angry at him.

"Keep it, Mal. It's better on you anyway." He gave her a flirtatious smirk as his eyes raked up her form, settling on her flushed face. "But one condition."

Her eyes looked up to meet his, curiosity filling them. "Yeah? And what would that be?" She wound her arms up around his neck, pulling them closer.

"Wear it on game days for me?" He had a hopeful smile.

Mal flashed a smile. "Gladly." Then she closed the space between them and captured his lips with hers.

That Friday, the school was bustling with energy. Everything was covered in more blue and yellow than usual, every student wearing something to celebrate their school's team.

And by everyone, Mal was included. Even though the blue and yellow clashed with her violet locks, she wore Ben's jersey proudly. Besides, even if her outfit didn't exactly match, the look Ben gave her every time he caught a glimpse of her made it so worth it.

"Have I told you how much I love this outfit?" Ben asked her at their lockers, pulling her to him by said shirt.

She laughed, placing her hand on his chest. "You might have mentioned it."

"I don't care what Evie says about fashion. You look beautiful."

A faint blush tinted her cheeks. "I still don't get why you like it so much. It's only a shirt."

"Yeah but it's my shirt."

"So?" She raised an eyebrow.

He sighed, trying to put his feelings into words. "I threw that shirt to you right after the love spell, and for some reason you kept it. That shows that it meant _something _to you at the time. And the fact you wear you it to sleep in shows just how much you love it. How much you love me. Whenever you wear the shirt, it's like I'm with you."

"I do love you," she replied with a small smile, standing on her tiptoes to kiss him gently. "But you know what would make me love you more?"

"What?"

"Food, I'm starving."

He gave her a sly smile. "But you know I don't eat before a big game?"

"Somehow I feel like I can change your mind."

The final game was finally here: Auradon Knights versus Corona Chameleons. The team was just about to walk onto the field when the locker room door slammed shut. "Ben?" a familiar voice to all the boys called.

Ben's eyes widened. "Mal? What are you doing in the boys locker room?"

"Looking for you, what do you think?" She rounded the corner with her hand over her eyes. "We need to talk."

A chorus of "oooh"s came from the group of boys behind him at her words, but Ben's quick glance silenced them immediately. He went up to his girlfriend and gently removed her hand from her eyes.

"Yes?"

She looked at the group behind him watching then intently and pulled him into one of the aisles of lockers, away from prying eyes. "I have a problem."

"What's wrong?" he asked, worried. What could be so important she had to tell him now?

"Well.." She but her lip, her nervous tell. Her other hand emerged from behind her back holding what looked like an old, purple shirt. "I spilled paint on your jersey and when I tried to get rid of it the paint kind of spread more. Even Evie tried but it won't come out, and now it's just sad looking after being washed and messed with so many times." She looked at it forlornly. "I'm sorry."

"Mal, it's okay. You tried to fix it, but sometimes stains are just stains. It's not a big deal." He reached up to brush her hair behind her ear, resting his hand on her cheek.

"But you always say it's your good luck charm for winning your games. And this is the biggest one. I don't want you to lose because of me."

He smiled down at her sad expression. "Mal, the shirt isn't my lucky charm anymore. It's you wearing the shirt that's my lucky charm. And it's really not even that, it's just you. All I need is you standing up in the bleachers cheering for the team and I, and I'm sure we will win."

"Really?" Her wide eyes met his.

"I promise." Her pressed a kiss to her forehead. "See you after the game?"

"No songs this time please," she called back as she walked out of the aisle, Ben following behind her once he picked up his equipment.

At the end of the aisle they were met with the group of boys all leaning towards where they had been talking. Upon being caught by Mal they all quickly straightened up and gave her tight smiles, even Jay and Carlos.

"Not a word of this leaves here or I will burn you to a crisp," she warned them all. With that, she walked out of the room, leaving them all in silence.

There were twenty seconds on the clock. The score was tied and the entire crowd sat with bated breath. The last play was about to begin and whoever made the point would surely win the title.

The Knights broke from their huddle, ready to defeat their opponents. Ben walked towards his position and looked up into the crowd, spotting Mal in an instant against all the yellows and blues. Even ruined, she still wore his jersey proudly. He looked up at her, smiling when she blew him a kiss. "Good luck," she mouthed.

The sound of the whistle quickly drew him back into the game, watching the ball fly in the air. Chad maneuvered the ball out of the other starter's stick and shot it backwards to Jay, who promptly started running down towards the goal with Ben on his heels. Ben blocked one defenseman only for another to come at Jay. He could hear the deafening roar of the crowds from both teams.

Suddenly Carlos ran up behind Ben and caught the ball midair from Jay. "Ben!" Surprised, Ben quickly got back up from his crouch and ran for the soaring ball. Raising his stick in the air, he managed to catch it and send it straight into the back corner of the net.

The Auradon crowd went wild. Ben barely had time to react before Jay, Carlos, and the rest of the team were piling on top of him. None of them could wipe the smiles off their faces as they yelled and cheered in victory.

After celebrating with his team for a few minutes, he escaped the large group and ran for the bleachers, one purple head of hair in mind. He pushed through a mass of students cheering excitedly at the end of the bleachers, many of them slapping him on the back and congratulating him. He stopped at the end of the stairs when he saw Mal running down them.

"You did it!" she cried, flinging herself into his welcoming arms, circling her arms around his neck tightly as Ben spun her around. When her feet met the ground once more, he pulled her closer. She tilted her head up to kiss him sweetly. As they broke away, she whispered, "Congratulations."

He couldn't stop smiling at her, and instead of replying only pulled her in for one more kiss. With Mal at his side, he knew he was capable of anything, and winning tourney games was only the beginning of it.

Later that night, after all the partying and festivities had finally ended, Ben was walking Mal back to her room. As they finally reached her door Mal could not stop yawning. Ben chuckled at her sleepiness. "Too much tonight?"

She rubbed her eyes. "Yeah, and I've been up late anyway these past few nights trying to fix ur shirt." She looked down at the purple jersey. "What am I supposed to do with this now?"

He looked at her quizzically. "What do you mean? You keep it."

"No, I mean, it's not exactly a team spirit shirt anymore. You can barely even read your name on the back."

"Well you can keep wearing it as a sleep shirt, and you can have this one to wear for games," he replied, motioning to the jersey he currently wore.

Mal's eyes lit up. "Thanks Benny-boo." She pressed a quick kiss to his cheek. "I love you."

"I love you, too. Goodnight."

"Night." Mal slowly opened the door and slipped inside, keeping eye contact with the king all the way until the door closed its final inch. And the only thing Ben could think about the rest of the night until he closed his eyes to sleep were those vibrant, green eyes he loved so much.


End file.
